A Doll for a Warlord
by mermagic8
Summary: What happens when two young witches under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection have to live with Cybertronians for safety? What if the timid one of the two ends up getting captured by the Decepticons? What will happen to her when she captures the optic of Megatron himself? Will she be rescued or will the Decepticons gain a new ally? MegatronxOC KnockoutxOC BumblebeexOC BreakdownxOCxSoundwave?
1. Chapter 1

Crystal and Jess were both bored out of their minds as Agent Fowler drove them to their latest safe house.

The man tried to make some small talk with the girls to break the ice.

Only Crystal, a seventeen-year-old teenager with long velvet black hair that reached down to her waist and stunning bright blue eyes that reflected sadness, was kind enough to softly speak and answer his questions.

"What's so special about this place?" Jess, another seventeen-year-old only with short wavy red hair that would put the monarch butterfly's wings to shame and deep green eyes, finally asked after an hour of silence.

Her Southern accent seemed to thicken with annoyance as she frowned at the agent.

Fowler glanced back at her through the mirror.

"I'm not allowed to say until we get there." He answered, looking back at the road while also failing to notice the girls tense up at his next words, "You'll see as soon as we get there."

Sadly, for them it wasn't the first time someone said those exact same words to them, and the last time they got their answer was anything but pleasant.

The two glanced at each other, a flash of fear reflecting in Crystal's somber eyes as Jess squeezed her hand in reassurance.

In hushed voices, the girls began to speak to each other on their plan of escape. In two different languages: French and Italian.

Jess, speaking in French, suggested that possibly one of them could ask Fowler to let them stretch their legs or if they were desperate, fake to be in dire need to use the restroom at the next gas station. Once they were alone, they would bolt.

Crystal, however, answering in Italian, reminded her cousin that even if he agreed to their request, she highly doubted that they would get far. Especially since he had a car.

She also had to point out that they wouldn't be able to go anywhere since they were driving in the middle of nowhere.

Meanwhile, Fowler silently noticed how talkative the girls were to each other.

However, he did fail at noticing Crystal nervously rubbing the ruby on her golden amulet with her thumb.

"Calm down kid you look like you'll glitch out any moment. Said a deep voice out of nowhere causing the girls to jump with surprise.

"Bulkhead!" Fowler growled at what seemed like nobody, "You were supposed to wait until we got to base!"

"What is this? Are you talking to someone with a Bluetooth? Is there a camera in here?" Jess demanded.

Fowler and whoever else was speaking ignored the redhead. In fact, the mystery voice was ignoring Fowler as well.

His attention was all on Crystal who was trembling like mad and wasn't looking too well.

"I need you to relax sweetspark." He said soothingly, "You're looking a bit pale so I need you to take deep breaths and relax for me alright?"

When that didn't work, he let out a sigh of frustration.

After a while he had a thought.

"Tell you what? I'll tell you all I know, as soon as you calm down…alright?" he proposed.

Once again everyone ignored Fowler as Crystal managed to stammer an answer.

"P-promise?" she stuttered.

The girls could hear the smile in his voice.

"Promise."

 **A/N: This is my first time posting a story on this site so if I am doing something wrong, please tell me so I can improve. The same goes for my writing. Also fair warning, some characters will be OOC.**


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken a while but with Jess's help, Crystal wasn't on the verge of a panic attack.

And like he promised, the mystery voice whose name they learned was Bulkhead, told them everything he knew.

*Time skip After Autobot Explanation*

"Well," Crystal said, "this is new…"

The two cousins stood side-by-side as they gazed up at the giant robots that towered over them.

"U-um Bulkhead explained to us what's going on." Crystal said softly.

"Roughly." Jess added, glaring at Fowler, "Though it didn't help how Agent Fowler was practically screaming at him AFTER we barely manage to calm Crystal down."

After some time of what Bulkhead told them, the largest bot there, Optimus Prime, gave the two a further depth explanation of who they were.

"So you're advanced technological beings from another planet called Cybertron." Jess started.

"And you're in a war against other Cybertronians who call themselves Decepticons. Which want to take over our planet, enslave mankind, and take all of our resources." Crystal finished softly.

The Prime nodded his head with approval.

"That is correct." His voice rumbled.

"You two are taking all of this very well." Fowler commented.

This of course caused Jess to snort.

"We've been in strange situations, so we simply take it how it is." She said.

The blue female bot, Arcee, looked at them with suspicion.

"What sort of situations?" she asked.

Crystal glanced at Jess, receiving only a shrug.

The soft-spoken girl sighed before looking at the blue bot.

"Near death situations." She whispered.

"Ones which are the main reason why Director Fury called in a favor from Fowler here." Jess commented.

The bots looked at the agent, all with curious stares.

"Nick and I go back when we were still at the academy." He answered, "Lot of our favors are on confidential basis."

"And since many of mine were to keep you bots' identity hidden, keeping two girls safe seemed to be an easy way of paying him back."

Jess rolled her eyes at the agent.

"This is one of many that you've paid from what he told us." She scoffed, "Fury didn't tell you what we are did he?"

"Or why we needed protection." Crystal quipped.

Fowler scowled at them.

"If I may be so bold, may I ask?" Optimus asked gently, "It would seem fair from sharing our history and reason of why we are on your planet."

The redheaded girl was about to retort when Crystal placed a hand on her shoulder.

Silence filled the base as the two stared into each other's eyes.

After a short period, Jess relaxed and sighed in defeat.

"Fine," she huffed, "But all of you have to promise never to tell anyone about this."

"We give you our word." Optimus swore.

Upon hearing those words, both Jess and Crystal's eyes began to illuminate.

"So it is said, so shall it be." They said in unison.

When the light faded, Crystal awkwardly shuffled her feet, looking at the ground.

"We're…we're witches." She said after a moment.

There was silence as all of them processed what they heard.

"What?" Fowler snapped, "You expect me to believe that?

Jess shrugged her shoulders.

"Can't lie." She answered, "Crys's mother cursed us to always tell the truth."

"So you mean to tell me that you two are broomstick-riding, black dress wearing, cackling witches?" Fowler asked with disbelief.

"Well I wouldn't say ALL witches wear black." Jess said nonchalantly.

"And not all cackle." Crystal said softly, staring at the ground as she fiddled with her necklace

"Alright," said the Asian girl, Miko, "if you're REALLY witches, show us some magic."

The cousins looked at each other hesitantly, silently asking if it was alright.

Crystal sighed softly before she reluctantly stepped forward.

Once she was in the center of the platform, she cupped her hands and gently blew into them.

A glowing bright blue light, the same shade as her eyes, escaped the gaps between her fingers.

"Dilectus meus mihi et fac nix." She whispered into the light before tossing it high into the air, almost touching the ceiling.

It stayed there for a few moments, gradually glowing brighter until it finally exploded.

Falling gracefully to the ground were snowflakes as big as one's fingernail.

Fowler stared at the girl with disbelief as she stood there, snowflakes landing in her hair as she smiled softly.

The whole time everyone stared at the black haired girl, Jess studied their expressions.

The blue bot, Arcee, still seemed suspicious of them. While the medic, Ratchet, had a look of awe on his face along with Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and even Optimus Prime.

They were distracted with Crystal's show. None of them heard Jess whisper before she was engulfed in a bright green light.

The bots watched as the light swirled around her before they jumped away in fear when the light transformed into a column of fire, yet not burning anything.

And just as fast as it appeared, the flame extinguished, leaving no evidence that it was ever there.

The girls looked at their stunned audience as Crystal shyly hid behind Jess while the redhead smirked.

"Believe us now?" she asked.


	3. Chapter 3

The girls have been with the Autobots for a little over a month now and had gotten used to their new home for the time being.

The majority of the bots were kind to them with the exception of Arcee. The motorcycle bot was still suspicious of the two.

For Crystal, it was understandable for the femme bot to be wary of them. Either of them could seriously harm both the bots and their charges if they weren't too careful.

Jess however thought that Arcee was being ridiculous. She would glare at them if they got too close to her comrades, roll her optics with annoyance whenever Crystal would shyly speak up or Jess would advise a tactic for battle, and constantly shot down every suggestion of the two going out to hang out with either of the kids outside of the base.

When they had a Decepticon alert, she blamed Crystal when Miko pulled the girl through the ground bridge to "see the bots in action" as the Asian girl described it.

Crystal had made the mistake of reminding the energetic teen that she had never seen the Autobots fight nor a Decepticon before.

The result of that expedition was the two being shot at, Crystal saving Miko's life more than a few times, and an angry blue femme bot.

When Arcee found them, she instantly blamed their situation on the blue-eyed girl, not only ignoring Miko's surprising admittance that it was her idea, but claiming that she and Jess could be spies for the 'cons.

Thankfully Optimus ended that argument reminding Arcee of how Agent Fowler had vouched for them the first day they arrived.

A week later Crystal decided to take a walk around the base while Jess slept.

It was already in the evening and the kids had returned home. As she thought of it, the young witch felt her heart clench with envy of the trio of friends. They had a family to go back to, while she only had Jess.

Crystal was brought out of her thoughts when she neared the main room, hearing voices.

Normally the raven-haired girl wouldn't eavesdrop on other's conversations, but she was curious as to who was up this late.

So, she silently walked to the origin of the voices.

The closer she got to the room, the sooner she realized that it was Optimus and Arcee.

Now wary of what she might hear, Crystal hesitantly inched towards the entrance.

Holding her breath, she slipped into the room without the bots noticing.

"I'm telling you Optimus we shouldn't have them here." She heard Arcee say, "They've showed that they can't be trusted around the kids. They can't behave themselves."

The Prime sighed with slight annoyance at the repetitive argument.

"As I have told you before Arcee, Crystal and Jessica pose no threat towards the children nor our fellow Autobots." He replied, "An might I remind you that we protect all life on Earth. Especially the humans."

"Those two are NOT humans." Arcee snapped before she could stop herself, "Since we've been here I would know that a normal human being would not be able to do any of those things those two have done. They are dangerous Optimus! They have to leave!"

Though she had heard many others claim similar words before, it still hurt the young witch.

It was Optimus who heard her sniffle, turning his optics to the girl.

There he saw her staring at them with heartbroken eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. What made his optics widen however was when he caught sight of her arms and legs.

Numerous scars littered her body; needle markings, bullet wounds, slash marks.

None of the bots had seen these scars. She normally wore clothing that covered the majority of her skin.

Tonight however she wore only a pair of dark blue pajama shorts and a matching blue tank top with her amulet she always had hanging around her neck.

Noticing her Prime's attention was on something else, Arcee followed his gaze before freezing at the sight of the girl standing here.

And like Optimus, she too noticed the scars on the girl.

Before the femme bot could say anything however, Crystal backed away from them with fear clearly seen in her eyes.

"I'm sorry for endangering your family." They heard her whisper before running away from them.

She kept running down the hall, past the other bots' rooms, past the shared room she had with Jess, until she finally reached the lift that took everyone to the roof.

Faintly she heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming her way just as the door closed.

Once she was alone, the young woman let more tears fall as the lift grew colder and colder.

By the time she reached the top, the lift was covered with frost. And more formed with each step she took just as a sob escaped her lips.

 _'_ _Just leave._ ' Whispered the voice in her head very much like her own except colder, ' _They don't trust you. As long as Arcee is there, she will give them reasons why to never trust you.'_

"Why doesn't she trust me?" Crystal mumbled out loud, shuffling towards the edge in a daze.

' _Because she is like everyone else. They fear what they don't know.'_ The voice answered.

' _Just leave.'_ It repeated.

"But…. what about Jess?" Crystal asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry, her feet now at the edge of the cliff.

' _She can manage by herself. She's always been able to defend herself against Arcee without the Prime's help. And once she sees that you're gone, she'll go after you….after all, she always finds a way to come back to you.'_ The voice reasoned.

Crystal hesitated as she thought about the idea. Though she wasn't too deep in thought to not hear the lift door opening.

Spinning around, she instantly felt her heart quicken with fear upon seeing Arcee standing there.

Meanwhile, the female Autobot's optics widened at the sight of the girl standing so close to the edge.

"Crystal," she said cautiously, "step away from the edge. Just come to me and we'll talk, okay?"

Despite the terror and depression, the bot brought her, the witch couldn't help but smile sadly at Arcee.

"I can't do that Arcee." She said softly, tears still falling down her cheeks, "Like you said, I'm dangerous. A lot of people I care about get hurt around me. I shouldn't even be around Jess but I just don't want to be alone…."

 _'_ _You'll never be alone bambina.'_ The voice cooed, ' _I'll never leave you alone.'_

Despite the voice, Crystal ignored it as she gave Arcee another somber smile, this one a bit more broken.

"Maybe I'm supposed to be alone though." She said softly, looking down at the ground, watching as her tears formed ice the moment it hit the floor.

Sniffing once more, she looked up at the blue bot.

"Goodbye Arcee," she whispered, "Even though you hated me, I can say it was a pleasure meeting you. And may the gods of Olympus smile upon you."

"Crystal wait!" Arcee started, lunging towards the girl, but it was too late.

The raven haired teen had already taken a step back, plummeting to the ground below.


	4. Chapter 4

Crystal closed her eyes as she fell, enjoying the cool sensation of the wind blowing through her scalp. Not even the normally eerie whispers of the air unnerved her.

'It's time.' was all the voice said before going silent.

The girl sighed with frustration wanting to enjoy a few moments more of peace before she flipped around, facing the ground.

"Indica mihi est forma." she chanted, her eyes glowing bright blue.

Instantly her very clothes changed, appearing out of nowhere.

A black and navy blue frilly dress was what she suddenly was wearing along with a traditional witch's hat on top of her head. On her hands was a silver ring with a stunning blue gem on her fingerless gloved hands with matching earrings.

The only thing that stayed from her original attire was the amulet she constantly wore.

Beneath her, forming out of thin air, was a silver broomstick that barely finished in time for her to swoop high into the sky.

She didn't stop there though, when she was high past the Autobot cliff height, out of Arcee's reach, she began heading East. All the while ignoring the femme bot's fading calls.

Crystal didn't really think of where she would go. Simply as far away from everyone.

She just, let the wind guide her, the Fates never lead her astray before.

It was until she looked up at the moon above she finally felt her icy tears.

The sudden realization that she was truly alone hit her, and that terrified her. Terrified her to the point where she had to land in a dense forest before she completely lost her concentration.

Though in her state, Crystal practically crashed into the ground, her broom crumbling into snow, instantly melting to the earth as her clothes shifted back to her pajama shorts.

Hitting the ground with a painful grunt, she slowly sat up as she regained her bearings.

The teen had no idea where she was, she could only guess that she was pretty far from the base with how long and how fast she flew.

Crystal was pulled from her thoughts as her face paled upon hearing the terrifyingly familiar scream of a Wendigo.

"Oh gods." She breathed shakily, scrambling to her feet.

Dirt dug between her toes as she ran as fast as she could. Branches whipped across her face, snagging her hair all the while as the wind encouraged her to keep going.

Panic coursed through her veins as she pushed herself to run faster. No matter how fast she ran though the cursed beings continued to pursue her.

Swallowing harshly, her eyes began to glow before she spun to face them.

Wendigos were gauntly creatures with sickly grey skin stretched over its bones. They had no hair on top of their heads. Their teeth were sharp, meant to tear the flesh off of their prey with haunting white eyes scanning the area.

Never before had Crystal been so grateful of her father pushing her to study mythical creatures.

She remembered how these…. these nightmares, could only see their prey if they moved.

She also sadly recalled of fire being one of the key things to destroying them. The witch could only perform winter magic which only dealt with water, ice, and wind.

The only thing she could do was stay still and pray to the gods.

Crystal held her breath as she watched the wendigo crawl on all fours, its limbs stretched to where, if it stood, it would be about eight feet tall.

It took all the discipline she had not to bolt when the creature let out a screech that would rival a banshee's.

Crystal waited for the right moment though. The perfect opportunity to run.

And that moment happened when the wendigo was five feet from her, directly in front of a tree.

Its head jerked in Crystal's direction when she turned and ran, right when a powerful gust of wind slammed it against the tree.

The wind kept blowing, pressing the wendigo against the bark as Crystal ran away in the safety of her air pocket.

She kept running, trying to get as far away from that thing as possible.

All it took was her to look away once for her to fall in a small hole in the ground.

Crystal cried in both fear and pain as she tumbled down the rocky slope.

She landed harshly on her side, moaning softly in pain as she slowly looked up at where she fell.

The hole was decently big, now widening since she had fallen.

Licking her lips, Crystal raised her hand in the direction of the hole.

"Oblinito." She croaked out.

She watched as ice began to cover the gap, listening to the wind die out mixed with the angry cry of the wendigo.

Once the hole was completely filled with a thick layer of ice, Crystal was left in the dark with bruises and scrapes from the fall.

Mustering up some energy, Crystal weakly sat up and cupped her hands.

"Perspicuus in tenebris." She managed to whisper, blowing softly into her hands.

It took a while due to her weakened state, but after a moment, she was able to produce a bubble the size of her fist that glowed in a beautiful silvery light.

The light was weak, barely able to illuminate the cave. Still it gave Crystal some comfort to see.

With great difficultly, she stumbled to her feet wanting to both explore the cave but mostly to get away from the clump of ice being the only thing keeping her safe form the wendigo.

She whimpered softly in pain as she staggered to the wall.

Using it to help guide her through the dim light, Crystal was able to find a way out of the room she was in.

The passage was narrow with barely enough for her to walk through. The strictness of the walls slowly began to make Crystal feel slightly claustrophobic.

Now wanting to get out of the tight passage, Crystal pushed herself to go faster, one hand on the wall.

Even with her faint mage light, the young witch couldn't help but feel hopeful upon the sight of an exit from this unnerving hallway.

Crystal couldn't stop the soft yelp from her lips when the wall she used as support disappeared.

She didn't bother getting up when she fell onto the hard ground. Everything hurt. It seemed that she was hopeless on her own. She was nothing without Jess.

With that though in mind, the flood gates came pouring open.

Tears came cascading down her cheeks as Crystal sobbed her heart out, dark thoughts evaded her mind.

'It's my fault all this happened!' she thought, 'It's my fault Jess can't trust people. Why our whole family is dead. Why we can't have a normal life.'

She continued to cry, ignoring the voice trying to reassure her.

It was after a while, when her sobs died and were reduced to soft sniffles, was when she began hearing the dripping of water and whispers of said water.

Wiping away the remaining tears from her face, Crystal wearily pushed herself to her feet.

Her limbs screamed in protest as she moved towards the direction of the drips and whispers.

The silver mage light was weaker than before as it flickered.

The young witch strained her eyes as she stopped to try to see what was in the cavern.

Less than a minute had passed before her eyes widened at the sight.

The cave was enormous, almost the size of two football fields. Energon crystals of all sizes, practically decorating the walls and floor.

'This probably one of those energon caves Ratchet has spoken about.' she thought as she carefully walked around a large crystal of energon roughly about twelve feet tall.

She warily kept her distance from the crystals, knowing that human skin would be burnt if one would touch it.

Once her eyes drifted away from the glowing shards, she found the source of the dripping and whispers. Placed in the center of the cave was a large lake. Even that had shards of energon at the bottom, causing the water to glow slightly.

For the first time in a while since she left, Crystal smiled slightly as she knelt at the water's edge. The moment her skin touched the cool liquid.

She felt refreshed. Nothing hurt anymore. Whatever scrapes and bruises she had were already healed. The sensation came two-fold when Crystal cupped her hands a brought the water to her lips, feeling the water pour down her throat.

Despite the sudden boost of energy the water had given her, Crystal was still tired from the events that happened.

Slowly, she laid down at the shore as her eyes slowly began to close.

She couldn't help the dark thoughts begin to trickle into her mind once more. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she licked her lips and began to sing something that's been on her mind for the past few days.

 _"_ _2 a.m., where do I begin?  
Crying off my face again  
The silent sound of loneliness  
Wants to follow me to bed_

 _I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most  
I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well_

 _Dancing slowly in an empty room  
Can the lonely take the place of you?  
I sing myself a quiet lullaby  
Let you go and let the lonely in to take my heart again_

 _Too afraid to go outside  
For the pain of one more loveless night  
But the loneliness will stay with me  
And hold me 'til I fall asleep_

 _I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most  
I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well_

 _Dancing slowly in an empty room  
Can the lonely take the place of you?  
I sing myself a quiet lullaby  
Let you go and let the lonely in to take my heart again_

 _Broken pieces of  
A barely breathing story  
Where there once was love  
Now there's only me and the lonely_

 _Dancing slowly in an empty room  
Can the lonely take the place of you?  
I sing myself a quiet lullaby  
Let you go and let the lonely in to take my heart again…."_

As she sang the last of the lyrics, her mind drifted to blissful darkness.

 **A/N: The song is by Christina Perri: the Lonely**


	5. Chapter 5

When Jess woke up it was already past noon, and already she knew something was wrong.

Crystal usually would've woken the normally heavy sleeper at the crack of dawn just to watch the sunrise. Not only that, the two shared a bed despite the fact that the Autobots provided them with their own. The two cousins shared a bed, more for Crystal's sake due to her constant nightmares.

Seeing her cousin's spot empty and lack of icicles would definitely raise the redhead's concerns.

Throwing off the unnecessary bedsheet, Jess hopped off the bed and padded down the hallway wearing just her pajamas which was similar to Crystal's except hers was green.

Now the thing about her type of magic was that her abilities focused more so on Earth and fire. Meaning that she had a better understanding to the two. They each had their own voice, their own stories to tell.

Though the young witch wasn't in tune to her natural elements like Crystal, she was able to hear the stone walls' whispers.

Rock itself normally doesn't speak much. Least nothing interesting normally. Though for Jess's sake, since their location had some very interesting occupants, there was something new almost every day to hear other than the occasional 'There's a new anthill forming in me' story she would overhear from the ground.

The whole mountain, however, seemed to be gossiping over something that occurred last night.

At first, Jess wasn't able to hear much. Simply snippets of their conversations. However, the more she listened, the slower her gait went.

' _Doesn't trust them.'_

 _'Didn't realize-'_

 _'she was listening-'_

 _'saw the scars!'_

 _'Made her cry? How rude!'_

 _'Gone?'_

 _'Left last night.'_

Her pace finally went to a standstill the more she listened.

She took a deep breath, trying to get her emotions under control.

Sadly, all it took to break her concentration were the familiar heavy footsteps of an Autobot. When Jess turned to look, she saw that it was Ratchet.

"About time you woke up." He said, "Optimus has something to tell you."

Her eyes glowed dangerously bright as she glared at the medic.

"Where's Crystal?" she demanded.

His hesitation caused her concern to spike even higher as he looked away for a moment.  
"That is what Optimus needs to talk to you about." He stated before he walked off.

Growling softly under her breath with spark of fire beginning to flicker off her very being, the young witch stalked after the older Autobot into the main hall.

There she saw the Prime standing tall, hands behind his back with somber eyes. She saw how his eyes widened and then scan her body with shock and confusion.

She didn't think that the Prime would be studying her scars. Scars very similar to what Crystal had. Hardly any of the bots, Optimus included, paid attention to the redhead's marks. They simply assumed with her personality that she had gotten in trouble a lot.

That option was instantly taken out from the Prime's mind as he made note of how she and Crystal appeared to have been harmed by the same style and possibly the same person.

It was the silence inside which caught her attention. Taking the moment to glance around, Jess noticed how none of the other Autobots were here.

'Must be picking up the kids.' A small part in her brain said before her attention instantly snapped to the tallest when he cleared his throat.

"You are most likely concerned were Miss Crystal is-" he started only to get interrupted by the impatient redhead.

"Concerned is an understatement Prime." She hissed as more sparks flew off her in annoyance, "Crystal is not one to suddenly disappear without telling me. Something happened. What was it?"

Deciding that telling her right away seemed to be the wisest choice, the Prime informed of the events that happened the night before.

The whole time he explained he observed how Jess was silent, not interrupting him, no emotion besides the frown on her face.

When he was done, silence once again filled the base. He stayed quiet, letting the information sink into Jess's mind.

"Where is she?" she suddenly said, her voice void of all emotions.

Optimus blinked, "As I have said, we do not know the current location of Miss Crystal nor-"

"NOT her." She said, snapping at the bot before her voice quieted, now filled with anger, "The bot who did that to her. Where. Is. Arcee?"

Just as she finished the question, all of them head the sounds of engines running, echoing down the hallway.

Jess's eyes glowed a dangerous biohazard green when she saw the blue motorcycle with her charge riding it.

Optimus and Ratchet watched nervously as the young woman held a cool attitude while the other humans got out and off of their guardians.

All hell broke loose though once Jack and the others were a decent distance from Arcee.

Everyone stared in shock, and a bit of fear, when the female bot was suddenly slammed into a nearby wall, sandwiched by another slab of rock that appeared.

Arcee let out a cry of pain when she pressed against the rock before her optics searched for the cause.

She didn't have to look much when she suddenly made eye contact with Jess. The Autobot had to admit, she was never afraid of the human life here on Earth. But when she looked into Jess's eyes, they were filled with pure hatred.

It didn't help her case as Jess's whole body was engulfed in flames, a scowl on her lips.

"If it weren't for the promise I made for Crystal you would be dead right now!" she hissed, pressing the rock harder against the bot.

"You dare saw that she isn't human? That SHE is dangerous?" she asked, barking out a laugh, shaking her head as a slight gleam in her eyes appeared, "Oh Cherie how wrong you are. Believe me…"

She chuckled, concealing her expression as she rubbed her face with both hands.

When she removed them, there was a maniacal smile on her lips.

"I'm the one you should have been afraid of." She said darkly, more flames appearing around her.

It brought a sick joy in her to the terror in the bot's eyes as she looked at the witch.

Sadly, it came to an end too soon.

"Jessica that is enough!" Optimus roared.

Instantly the flames were extinguished as she tilted her head to look at Optimus with a bored expression.  
"I simply needed to show her that the one she caused to run away. The one who witnessed her own family's death. Was experimented on. Is mentally shattered. That girl is the one who like a saving grace compared to me." She said before looking back at Arcee, relishing how the bot was still terrified of her even without the flames.

"I have no problem killing people who treat my family like shit." She said, "But Crystal made me swear on my own title that I wouldn't harm someone who she deemed innocent."

She looked at the blue bot just as she released her from her prison, watching how she fell down with a loud 'clang'.

"Lucky for you that her definition is different from mine." She said before she turned and walked away from the main room.

She was at the hallway entrance when Miko finally spoke up, her voice trembling from the scene she, Raf, and Jack just witnessed.

Jess's now normal green eyes lazily turned to the Asian girl.

"I'm going to get dressed," she started, "and then I am going out for a smoke so I can cool my head and think of a way to find my cousin."

Optimus stepped forward at this.

"You mustn't go out alone." He said as Jess also heard Arcee silently murmur.

"She shouldn't be even allowed to go outside."

Jess sneered at the female bot, causing her to flinch and look away, before looking at Optimus.  
"Then have a bot with me." She said, "It would be very unwise for me to be here when almost every fiber in my body wants to annihilate that piece of scrap right there."

With that being said, she turned around and headed back to her room to get ready.

When she was finally out, standing at her doorway was the new bot Smokescreen who was nervously shifting his feet.

"U-um Optimus told me to watch over you while we're out." He stammered, avoiding eye contact with her.

Jess couldn't help but chuckle softly at how nervous he was around her. Then again she did look like a demon right out of hell not that long ago.

"Don't worry," she assured, "it's not you I hope to harm."

With a nod of his head he quickly shifted into his car form, letting Jess sit in the front passenger seat, before driving off to Jasper.

 **A/N: I am so sorry for the lateness in this update. I started school a couple weeks ago and I didn't get the chance to write anything until now.**


	6. Chapter 6

Crystal wasn't sure how long she had slept. The only thing she knew though was the sound of rocks breaking and the terrified cries of the ice she made to block up the hole.

She winced as the rush of wind suddenly entered the underground cave, listening to the roaring voices of the gossiping wind. It was surprisingly painful for the girl to hear the loud voices in the air, having already gotten used to the soft whispers of the water in the cave.

"Commander Starscream we broke through." She heard a male voice, her eyes instantly darted towards the crevice she crawled through.

'Oh gods.' She thought before she weakly stumbled to her feet.

"Break the rest down, Lord Megatron will be pleased once we bring this energon back to the Nemesis." Croaked a different male voice.

The young witch swallowed harshly as she heard rock begin to break, widening the passage way for the Cybertronians, flinching when the stone gave away.

 _You need to hide, bambina._ The voice whispered harshly.

Crystal's eyes darted around in panic, searching for a place, ignoring the voices in the background. The only place she could think was the lake.

Her attention was sent back to the Vehicons.

"By the Allspark this is gonna be quite a haul!" one Vehicon seemed to say in amazement as he turned in a circle to gaze at the amount of energon.

Despite the situation, Crystal couldn't help but have a bit of amusement at the 'Con's human behavior.

'Just shows how much they're like us huh?' she thought.

 _To some extent._ The voice hummed in amusement just as Crystal reached the water's edge.

"Commander Starscream there's a human!" one of the Vehicons yelled.

Crystal spun around, her eyes wide with horror at the robot that seemed to stare at her.

"GET IT!" screeched the raspy voice from before.

That was all it took to snap Crystal from her daze before she bolted away from the water, miraculously dodging the servos, pedes, and even blasters aimed at her.

'Let me take over!' hissed the voice in her head.

"NO!" she yelled out loud, scrambling away from the bots.

The cavern was filled with voices; the raspy one screaming out orders, the Vehicons' yelling at each other where she was heading, the booming gunshots that were targeting her, the voice in her head demanding to take control, even the whispers in the air continuously warning her.

It was too much for the young witch.

Crystal collapsed to her knees, covering her ears in a vain attempt in shutting out the noise.

" **AHHHHHHHHHH!** " she shrieked in pure agony, the cavern shaking by the sheer volume of her scream.

All the bots froze, staring at her with mixed feelings of fear and awe at the damage she was causing from the action.

Rocks fell from the ceiling, splashing into the lake, Vehicons having to dodge them from falling on them.

Crystal's scream slowly died down before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, blacking out from the energy she had just spent.

Gradually the shaking in the cavern had stopped as well, leaving everybot to gawk at the tiny human before them.

"C-Commander Starscream?" one Vehicon bravely spoke, "What should we do with her?"

The second-in-command stared down at Crystal with a curious gaze on his faceplate.

"Take the human back to the ship." He ordered, "It may be of use to us."

Crossing his servos behind his back, the seeker headed back to the entrance.

"I will inform Lord Megatron of our newest guest." He informed the bots, "Harvest this energon as well. Not a single scrap should be left for the Autobots."

With that said, the high-heeled bot strutted out with his helm held high.

Once his ped-steps faded, the Vehicons seemed to relax, all of them gathering around Crystal with a child-like curiosity.

Her hair was covering almost every part of her skin as she lay sprawled on the ground unconscious. Interested in what she looked like, one of the Vehicons brushed her hair back with a surprisingly careful digit.

They were stunned by the amount of marks and burnings that were on her skin.

"Why is she like that?" one 'con asked softly.

"I don't know." Another answered just as softly.

"She's pretty for a human." A different one commented.

A faint hum of agreement was heard throughout the Vehicons before they went silent, staring at Crystal once more.

"So, who's going to take her?" the first one who spoke, B03S, asked.

The bots stared at each other, not sure if they wanted to be alone with the second-in-command.

"I'll take her." Volunteered a Vehicon designated ST3V3, stepping out from the center.

No one protested as the 'con delicately plucked the female human from the ground, noting how her body was cold. He held his glossia however as he started back towards The Nemesis.

"Ah Starscream I hope that you are here to bring me good news?" Megatron sneered as the seeker stepped into the bridge.

"Of course my liege," the second-in-command crooned, bowing low to the warlord, "I came to inform you of the mining process is being done as we speak. The reason I came is of a different matter. We found a female human in the mine."

Megatron raised an optic ridge and remained silent, allowing the seeker to continue.

"Normally a pest would be destroyed on sight," Starscream went on, "however, it seemed to emit a high frequency to where it nearly damaged my audio receptors."

"Clearly this human has some sort of power to where it would be a possible benefit to the Decepticon cause. At the moment, we are unaware of if this human knows of the Autobots given that it had surprised reaction when it witnessed us."

Megatron pondered over the suggestion.

"Where is this human now?" the leader questioned.

"Currently it is in recharge in the medic bay my liege." Starscream informed, "It seems that the energy it used caused the human to go into recharge."

"When it awakes bring it to me immediately." Megatron ordered with a stern frown.

Starscream bowed once more to the former gladiator.

"As you wish my liege." He crooned before straightening himself and leaving the bridge.

It was midday when Crystal woke up finally, not that one could tell with how dark it was in the warship.

Crystal groaned softly, slowly sitting up as she tried to clear her blurry vision.

Blinking a few times, the young witch was confused upon seeing herself on some sort of metal table in a dark and ominous room clearly meant for beings much larger than herself. Even the voices of the wind there were terrifying, whispering the events that had happened in that room.

The previous events took only a moment to sink into her brain, causing the girl's eyes to widen with fear, her head to dart around, looking for a way of escape.

She swallowed harshly, frost forming around her in a three-foot diameter as she began to piece together where exactly she was.

' _Well the Decepticons certainly have an interesting taste.'_ The voice in her head commented dryly, _'So what's the plan? Stay here like sitting ducks or shall we at least try to get out of here?'_

'Yeah,' Crystal thought nervously, 'Getting out of here would most definitely be a good idea.'

Timidly, the raven-haired girl walked towards the edge and peered down. The table she was on was a bit away from the ground, making her grateful to all Greek gods that she wasn't terrified of heights like her cousin.

"Aere petere auxilium mihi." She uttered, her eyes darkening, before stepping off the table.

The moment both feet were off, a small whirlwind formed around her, slowing down the process, and cushioning her landing.

"Thank you." She whispered as her eyes returned to their normal pure sky-blue hue.

Without wasting anymore time, Crystal bolted away from the high metal furniture towards the wall. Sadly, when she found what seemed like a door, it wouldn't open for her. So here she was inside what she could assume was the Decepticon warship with no way out. On top of that, the air in the room she was in described the events of torture yet also one of healing, so she could only assume that she was in a hospital of some sorts for the Decepticons.

 _'_ _We can't give up now bambina.'_ The voice pressed, _'Try to find another way out! Or at least find a way to hide ourselves.'_

Taking the voice's advice, Crystal began looking for something to hide. The table enough was a possible hiding place, though it would be more childish to even considering hiding under there.

However, Crystal did notice behind the table and the strange machines, there seemed to be a vent of some sorts more than large enough for her to slip through.

Now there was a possibility that the vent would lead her to somewhere even worse.

 _'_ _What's worse than being in the Decepticon's hospital though?'_ the voice asked sarcastically.

'Good point.' Crystal thought as she scrambled to the open space.

Thankfully she didn't have to use any magic when she slipped inside, the wall having a slope for her to slide onto the lower platform. However, it held no exit. Whatever the reason was for the space, it simply resulted in her being even more trapped than before.

Her whole body stiffened when she heard the door slide open, spinning around to barely see a cherry red bot with gold trims stepping into the room.

He held some sort of pad that he was reading from before he froze when he saw the table was empty of any organic life.

"Scrap." She heard him say as she pressed herself closer to the vent's inner walls, trying to blend in with the shadows.

"Starscream will do more than ruin my finish if he finds out I lost the fleshie." The bot seemed to hiss to himself.

Crystal felt her blood run cold when she heard the name, recalling talks with Miko and Jack of the second-in-command Decepticon. He was a cruel and sadistic bot who had killed many Autobots back on Cybertron.

Her throat was dry as she began to tremble, frost gradually spreading farther the more her fear grew.

It didn't help how the red Decepticon was speaking, already having the idea that she hadn't left the room.

"Come out come out wherever you are." He seemed to coo, causing shivers to go down her spine resulting with even more frost, her breath barely starting to be seen.

"It'll be better for both of us if you just let yourself be caught." He pressed, she could practically hear the smirk in his voice as his footsteps grew closer.

"Especially if I'm the one who finds you." He continued, his optics scanning the ground.

He detected further into the medical bay that it was growing colder than it should be even for the Nemesis.

"If Commander Starscream were to find you," he said, somehow quietly moving the equipment away to reveal the space, "well I doubt you'd live through his anger."

Crystal was on a verge of a panic attack when the area suddenly got dark.

"Found you!" the bot practically sang before something large snatched her up.

The witch let out a scream of terror, nothing like at the cave, as she was brought up to the faceplate of the bot, staring in horror at the red, glowing optics peering at her with a smug expression before they grew curious upon seeing her eyes; bright blue, almost like pure energon, in his processor.

Tears began to fall down her cheeks as her body grew colder, struggling to get free.

"Please let me go!" she begged him, "I-I won't tell anyone what I saw at the caves! Please!"

The bot shrugged, his optics losing their curiosity for the moment, as he tightened his grasp on her, causing the girl to let out a short whimper.

"Sorry fleshie but the boss wants to see you." He replied before he began to carry her out of the medic bay.

Crystal couldn't help but sob at this news, lowering her head down with clenched eyes.

She just wanted to be left alone. Was that so hard?

 _'_ _For people like us? Always.'_ The voice answered.

'Shut up!' Crystal mentally yelled at it, 'It was a rhetorical question!'

Thankfully the voice stayed silent after that.

Still, it didn't bring any comfort to the girl as the bot carried her to a room filled with Decepticons. The Vehicons she recognized both from the one experience when Miko dragged her to the battleground and back at the cave.

By then her sobbing had died down to soft sniffs though the tears still fell steadily down her cheeks.

'I promise that I will never reveal the Autobots' base.' She mentally swore, hugging herself to hide the small band of light that wrapped around her torso, binding her to word.

Thankfully no one noticed the splash of blue when it happened, too busy with their own work. Though with the entrance of the new bot with the human they had captured earlier, soon she was the center of attention.

She noticed how many of the Vehicons stopped what they were doing and began to stare at her. What once was a room with mild chatter and the clicking of keys was now full of silence.

Crystal's eyes shifted to the direction the bot that held her was walking and widened at the size of bot that was now looking directly at her with blood-red optics.

Crystal began to shake in terror, goosebumps on her arms and legs as she stared at the bot that appeared to be larger than Optimus himself.

' _Me_ ga _tron.'_ Her and the voice said at once as they were brought before the infamous warlord.

His optics scanned her pitiful appearance; small frame, hair in a tangled mess, eyes red from crying.

Yet it was the scars that caught his attention.

In his processor, a small part of him wondered where she got such markings. Markings that reminded him back on his days as a gladiator on Cybertron in Kaon.

"So," his voice boomed, almost relishing when she flinched at the volume of his voice, "this is the human who nearly caused a cave in by simply screaming?"

"I find that highly unlikely Lord Megatron since she screamed at seeing me and nothing of what Commander Starscream described happened." The red bot who held her commented.

"Is that so?" Megatron mused, eyeing the girl who couldn't take her eyes off him, "Starscream, care to explain?"

It was when she heard the footsteps of another bot was when Crystal was able to tear her eyes away from the warlord to see the seeker.

"What I say is the truth my liege." The SIC sneered at the red bot, "You can ask the Vehicons who were with me as witnesses. This human here nearly caused us the loss of a large amount of energon from the damage she caused."

"I-I'm sorry!" Crystal squeaked, gaining all bots' attention.

Her trembling increased tenfold when she felt the optics on her.

"I-I c-c-ca-n-n't c-con-ntrol i-it s-somet-t-times." She was barely able to stutter.

Megatron raised an optic ridge and leaned in closer, peering at her.

"What are you exactly?" he questioned.

Crystal swallowed the lump in her throat.

"A-a witch." She answered honestly, "S-someone w-who pr-practices magic."

Their eyes seemed to dim slightly, searching for the terms before brightening once more.

"Impossible." Starscream sneered.

"W-well t-there's life i-in space s-so a-anything's p-p-poss-sible r-right?" the girl questioned.

The seeker scoffed before scowling at the human.

"Why were you at the mine?" he demanded.

"H-hiding." She answered, "F-from a c-creature t-that w-was sure to k-kill me."

"And where were you before that?" Megatron questioned, "WHO were you with?"

Crystal remained silent, terrified of what may come to her. She couldn't withhold the truth however. For it was the curse her mother left on her; to always tell the truth when asked, to never lie.

"Well?!" Starscream snapped, causing her to flinch once more.

"W-With a-a group c-called the Autobots." She said softly, her eyes lowering to the ground, ashamed that she had no choice.

The seeker seemed happy at this news along with the warlord.

"You know where their base is?!" he demanded.

Silently, Crystal nodded her head, refusing to look at them. Though her silence was broken as she let out a painful cry when the seeker snatched her away from the red bot, holding her directly infront of his faceplate.

"Tell me now!" he ordered.

A band of glowing blue light suddenly illuminated around her torso for all to see as Crystal timidly looked at the bot.

"I-I can't." she confessed, "I-I promised not to tell! A witch's word is law."

Crystal let out another cry of pain as the second in command began to tighten his hold on her.

"You will tell me the location of the Autobots." He growled.

"I CAN'T I CAN'T!" Crystal sobbed, crying harder at the pain she was feeling.

"ENOUGH!" Megatron roared, grabbing Starscream's wrist, ceasing the pain that the seeker was causing to the human.

Crystal's sobs of pain and terror filled the bridge as her head was lowered, her hair hiding her face. To the Vehicons who heard it, the sound was spark-wrenching yet they could do nothing to stop it.

The warlord was generous enough to wait for her crying to soften, having been deposited back to the red bot's servos, before he spoke.

"I apologize for my second in command's behavior." He said, glaring at the seeker who now cowered before him, "Tell me how your 'witch's word' works."

The raven head took a deep, painfilled breath before lifting her face to the warlord.

"A-A witch's word is binding." She answered, "O-once a promise has been made…..it cannot be undone."

Megatron hummed as he stared down at her, "And what happens if one were to break a promise?"

"You're sent in unbearable pain." She whispered in a voice which the warlord could hardly hear, "Until the point of where you cannot stand it no longer and die."

She spoke in such a way, her voice had a tremble to it, as if she had witnessed such things happening to people she knew.

"How do we know that she is telling the truth Master?" Starscream voiced.

"Because my mother cursed me to always tell the truth because she hated me for being alive." Crystal said without hesitation, her voice full of sadness.

This intrigued the large bot, curiously looking down at her.

"And why would a carrier hate her own sparkling?" He asked.

Crystal's somber eyes lifted to look at Megatron directly in the optics.

The warlord was surprised to see the human bravely look at him considering what she had shown him previously. Her eyes shone like fresh energon in the sun, glittering with sadness and pain.

"Because I was born to work for the light." She answered softly, "Our family has been birthed and raised to know dark magic. I am the only one who was born to help heal."

"And for that, I am the abomination of the Hunter coven." She whispered, lowering her head once more, tears falling down her cheeks and onto the floor below.

Silence once more filled the bridge as they looked at the girl. The Decepticons were honestly appalled by the news of a carrier hating her sparking. Even for their standards it was against the law to harm a sparkling, for they were the future's hope.

"If you were with the Autobots why is it that you were in the mine?" the red bot finally asked.

This question caught everyone's attention. Everyone was curious for the answer.

"Arcee…." Crystal started off before her voice faded.

It took her a moment before she continued, "Arcee thought I was a threat to her fellow teammates and their charge…. she said that I was no human…. that I had to leave…."

Many of the cons were shocked that an Autobot would say something like that.

Crystal chuckled humorlessly.

"People are always afraid of what they don't know." She quoted the voice in her head.


	7. Chapter 7

Jess scowled as she glared at the open desert before her.

She thought that leaving the base help her calm down. However, now alone in the open air (with the exception of Smokescreen parked nearby) she couldn't help but think of Crystal.

She knew that her cousin would have loved the moment of being outside. Even in the daylight. The timid raven haired girl always had some sort of fascination with every small town they found.

Jess recalled moments when she would ogle at the antique shops, looking at the trinkets with envy yet interest.

Once upon a time Crystal had a bag full of small, useless baubles that she bought from previous towns. Sadly though, they lost that bag when their pursuers had almost caught them.

The redhead exhaled a cloud of nicotine smoke into the air as she turned to the town of Jasper behind her.

'No wonder Miko was eager to be at the base.' Jess thought lazily, 'This town is pathetic.'

With that thought in mind, Jess began to wander through the dull town, lazily glancing through the store windows.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Smokescreen slowly drive after causing the redhead to snort.

'Sure, like that isn't inconspicuous.' She thought with a roll of her eyes.

Still she ignored the bot as she continued with her walk, ignoring the stares and frowns of disapproval she was getting from the people she passed by.

She didn't care. It was a free country. She looked old enough to smoke. Not like they could do anything legally to her to make her stop.

Her mood slowly began to deteriorate as she thought of Crystal, how the soft-spoken girl would be making comments on the town or some strange thing that caught her attention in a store window.

Sighing, Jess dropped her cigarette, grinding it to the pavement below with her sneakers, before spinning around to face the car that was tracing her, startling the Autobot.

"I'm bored." She told him, ignoring the stares of confusion she was getting from the passerby's.

Before Smokescreen could even speak, loud music caught her attention, causing her green eyes to drift to the source.

Parked across the street was a silver Shelby Cobra blasting music. Sitting in the driver's seat was a redheaded boy Jack's age smirking at her.

When their eyes met, his smirk widened a bit, winking at her.

Jess knew what she wore would get people's attention. Not that it was a bad thing for her. The young Bonnet lived off the attention. Thus, the reason why she wore the daisy dukes and the skin tight green tank top with a denim jacket over it. Unlike Crystal, she wore what showed off her assets the most.

So, with an enlarged ego, Jess sauntered across the street over to her fellow redhead.

"Salut." She purred, leaning against the window, smiling coyly at him.

"Hey." He said smoothly, not even hiding the fact that he was staring at her chest, "Never seen you around here."

Jess's smile widened a bit.

"Let's just say that I'm here for a super-secret reason." She said in a mock reason.

The boy leaned in closer to her, Jess not even moving when their faces got closer.

"Can you tell me?" he smirked.

"I can," she started before she leaned forward, whispering into his ear, "but you mind end up gravely injured cause of it."

She pulled back and gave him an impish smile.

He stared at her, a bit unsure on if she was serious or not.

"So," he spoke after a while, shaking his head to clear his head from the trance she seemed to put him in, "what's your name?"

"Jessica Bonnet." She answered, "But I like being called 'Jess'. How about you handsome?"

"Call me Vince." He said coyly, leaning out his window, trying to act cool.

Mentally Jess snorted at his idiotic actions but continued to smile at him.

"So Vince," he seemed to melt slightly at the way she said his name, "anything interesting to do in this town?"

Hearing this he smirked, "There's a race that happens every week."

"You just missed this week's." he told her, "I can take you to next week's if you want."

"Are you asking me to a date Vince?" she playfully asked him, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Maybe I am." He said, "So, what do you say?"

Jess bent down, her hands on her knees to look at him in the eye, but also pressing her breasts together.

"I say, 'when and where'?" she breathed huskily.

Once again he seemed to be caught in her little trap, his eyes glazed over as he stared at her chest.

"U-um," he stuttered, trying to regain his thoughts before saying weakly, "next Wednesday, five thirty at the KO Burgers?"

Once again Jess smirked quickly giving him a peck on the cheek before she began to saunter over to Smokescreen.

"It's a date!" she called over her shoulder, skipping onto the sidewalk.

Vince still had the dazed look on his face as he held the cheek she kissed when Jess hopped into Smokescreen's passenger seat.

"What did you just do?!" the Autobot yelled once the door was shut.

The redhead chuckled as she leaned back, her eyes glowing brightly in amusement.

"I just got next week's entertainment." She cooed, before looking at the dash, "So Smokey, how do you feel on racing?"

(I am extremely sorry for the hiatus for this story. It took a whole new job for me to get inspired to write this.)


End file.
